Samurai-- the market or the battlefield ??

Samurai market is usually used by non-residents of Japan, with a reference to the iconic Japanese warrior - the samurai. It is the slang term for the stock market in Japan. This market is where non-Japanese entities can launch public bond issues to raise yen finance.Issuance in the samurai bond market has more than tripled over the past several years. Some observers have attributed this growth to a systematic underestimation of credit risk in the market.

This Tokyo Foreign Bond Market(the so-called Samurai market)was created in 1970,with a public offering of yen bonds by the Asian Development Bank. Japan was then one of the largest debtors of the World Bank. Supported by consecutive current account surpluses, the government decided to create the Samurai market, graduating from the World Bank and becoming a capital-exporting country.

Japan's Samurai bond market is in danger of degenerating into a junk market. The traditional dignity of the Samurai title is being threatened by the influx of dubious issues and speculative instruments into the Tokyo market.